Only one university spent more per applicant to its mental health services than UoB

UoB spends the second highest amount of money per student who applies to their mental health services, according to our Mental Health Rankings 2017

The Tab's Mental Health Rankings 2017 is the only study to assess UK universities' ability to care for students with mental health issues. Read the full rankings here.

Mental Health services at UoB, located primarily in the Aston Webb Student Hub, were found to be well invested in, with only one university in the survey spending more per student who applied to the service.

The results show that UoB spent £609.63 per applicant, a figure which is well above the national average of £334.28. Per student, the results were slightly lower, with UoB spending £19.12 compared to the national average of £22.06.

Out of the 47 universities who took part in the survey, Birmingham came in 28th place for student satisfaction, and in 15th place overall.

These results come at a very topical time for UoB, with suspended counselling sign-ups recently being introduced due to high demand, and many students beginning to speak up about their less than satisfactory dealings with the service.

While our university could provide worse support, it also has scope for major improvement.

The rankings are now in their second year and assess 47 universities across the country, pulling together information about various aspects of their mental health services. They address how well universities fund their mental health services, how long students have to wait for help, and how satisfied students are with their university's mental health services. Over 9,000 students completed our mental health survey this year, and told us about their experiences.

Universities have a duty of care for their students, and mental health falls squarely under this. We're aiming to paint the truest picture of mental health at university, and how it's handled.

Commenting on the rankings, the university said: "The University of Birmingham provides a wide range of support for students who may be experiencing challenges in their life at university.

"We continue to encourage students who need help to seek it at the earliest possible opportunity and work hard to reduce any barriers to students being able to approach and access services.

"We also continue to invest in our network of support services in order to help students find that support as easily and quickly as possible.

"For example, our most recent investment in College Wellbeing Officers provides more instant access for students to the support and guidance they need, as well as helping with the early identification of concerns.

"They also help to refer students who need it to the range of specialist services the University provides like our Counselling and Wellbeing service or Mental Health team.

"These teams of dedicated professionals help students develop the strategies they might need to address any difficulties and achieve to the best of their ability whilst at the University of Birmingham."